Obliviated
by Kasteborous
Summary: James dreams of the 90's, where Harry like in canon is the chosen one. A few nights of identical dreams, and he confides in Lily, retelling everything to her. Will Lily believe him, or will she break up with him? How will this change the events of Halloween '91?


**Obliviated**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter and its characters belong to none other than JK Rowling – who is not me.**

It was Halloween, coincidentally, when James woke from his dream. It had been only a few hours since everyone had gone up to sleep after celebrating the most spectacular win for Gryffindor in the past years. He, Sirius and Remus had been the last to retire, the latter only because he wished to make sure there was no evidence of the party.

He'd slept around, what, three hours, having been woken up by Sirius at 7am on the dot. Why his friend was awake at such a terrible hour, he didn't care, he just wanted to _sleep_. His head was killing him, he was still on his high from having been kissed by Lily Evans – who he had been _officially_ dating for almost two months, and _unofficially _for more than half a year – and he'd just had the strangest dream ever.

He'd slept, as mentioned, three hours, yet his dream seemed to span a lifetime. It started from when the person was a baby, until they were middle-aged, almost, with kids. Names were mentioned frequently, he could almost remember everyone who popped up many times, and it felt like a memory. What scared him was all the 'characters' resemblance to _his _friends. For a second, he considered that he'd made up their kids, and assumed it was his underused imagination.

Either way; that was a problem for the future, and he was in the present. And, presently, a lovely redhead with a short temper was waiting for him downstairs. And, even though it was already seven thirty in the morning, he stumbled downstairs, unable to deny his girlfriend the world.

_/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\_

The _same _dream, again. The next night, the first of November, he had the exact same dream, and he remembered everything. Once again, he tried to convince himself it was his imagination hoping for a future with Lily, or something. It was a futile attempt, but it did for a while.

He decided to tell Lily, but only if it happened twice more. Hopefully, she would put his mind at rest, confidently exclaiming how it was because of one thing, or the other. Whatever it was, Lily would know, and she would help him.

After all, she couldn't possibly get angry at him for his imaginations? They were subconscious. So what if he dreamt of an emerald eyed, raven haired Potter-Evans? One with friends, all children of their friends. It was alright, right? Everyone dreamt of their future at such a crucial point in life. They were bordering on eighteen, already adults in the Wizarding World, and they had the N.E.W.T.s hovering upon them.

After a busy day of classes, one in which the Gryffindors had gotten over their hangovers – at last – he dropped on his bed after some joking around with Moony, while the other two quarters were away in detention. He made a mental note of apologising to Lily the following morning for 'talking in a vulgar way of other houses' or something. He loved the woman, but she needed to relax a bit.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Three more nights passed the same, with the same dream every night. He wanted so badly to chalk it off as _imagination _but he needed peace of mind. With a sense of impending gloom, he jumped down the stairs to meet Lily at the portrait door.

His hands were sweaty and his heart raced at the thought of telling Lily, but why should he be nervous? She'd help, she was nice and kind and beautiful. The walk to the Great Hall was torturous; his hand was clasped tightly with hers, and his voice babbled at a hundred miles per hour, and he felt his nervousness was obvious.

Luckily, though, his girlfriend didn't comment, she just smiled slightly and blushed when James trailed off and stared at her eyes. And thus, the remainder of the day progressed slowly, dragging on as if the sun enjoyed taking it slow for once. He sat with Peter – who was oblivious -, Sirius – who was rewarded with a detention with his tries to make James laugh -, Remus – who simply, silently, offered an open ear and left him to think – and Lily – who, strangely, seemed sad at his current mood.

The sun finally set at four, and James beckoned Lily to him, leading her to the come-and-go room with a flourish. They spent a couple of hours in a muggle arcade, Lily showing him the rules and controls of the games, while James let her win every time. They laughed and smiled, and James decided to ask her now, lest he chicken out. The thought of shattering such a carefree atmosphere somewhat hurt, but he _knew _she wouldn't react badly.

He started with silence, his laughs purposely half-hearted, so she'd know it was serious. Then, they sat down and the room merged and shrunk as it became a small version of the common room, warm and cosy, with two armchairs. He took a few minutes to collect his thoughts, well aware how Lily was worried with his change of attitude and his sudden out of character actions. And he just started, the words magically coming out, explaining and detailing his dream.

He started with their child, Harry, he'd heard; "-It was a boy, with green eyes and black hair. Born in the eve of August, godchild to Sirius and Alice; named Harry James Potter-" Then he went on to describe what he'd seen of the first ten years of his life, after that fateful Halloween. James kept his eyes facing downwards, unable to meet her Lily's eyes.

"-And then Hagrid came, scaring the shit out of Harry. He explained Hogwarts to him, as, well, we weren't able to. He took Harry to buy the supplies necessary, and, the next month, he was off to Hogwarts. He met a boy, the youngest son-to-be of Arthur Weasley, and they both got sorted into Gryffindor – of course – and made an opponent out of a Malfoy. That Halloween, they saved a little girl, Hermione Granger, from a troll that'd broken in.-"

"-It was brilliant, three first years did all that. The giant chess set, the troll, the Devil's snare... I was so proud of Harry; he did all that, and beat Quirrell. They won the House Cup, naturally, even after they lost so many points because of the 'Norbert' adventure, yet they won them all back!-" James was grinning with happiness at his future-son's achievements, not realising how personal and intimate his telling had become. It seemed as if he was there or something like that. "-And then those twins, Fred and George, and Ron broke him out of his room for the summer, and they flew back to the Burrow. You should've seen Ginny's face when she saw her lifelong idol and crush sitting in her kitchen.-"His loud voice made sure everything was heard, and Lily grimaced at his words. What was he saying?

"-People started getting petrified, and you could just see how worried Harry was about Hermione – she was a muggle born. Along with Malfoy's arrogance and degrading insults towards her, it's no wonder she didn't crack with all the negative emotions. Even after a duelling club, hosted by Lockheart and Snivellus, in which Harry – to my horror – was revealed to be a parseltongue to the school, the things got worse. Harry was named Heir of Slytherin – as if! – and everyone shunned him for it, again, after all, it was _popular knowledge _that he'd petrifying those muggle borns. The twins, though, they were awesome, as they poked fun at the rumours, making our Harry feel better.-"

James still stared at his hands with a face-splitting smile on his lips. He was so proud, he temporarily forgot of the fact they'd never talk properly. He was ecstatic, however, at hearing of his future. Lily frowned at her boyfriend, slightly worried about him – why was he inventing all this? Was he delusional or so 'in love'?

"-Then the summer returned, and Harry blew up his aunt. Of course, if you had an aunt insulting your parents, you'd get really pissed off, although you more than me. Well, after riding on the Knight Bus to The Leaky Cauldron, he stayed there the rest of the summer. And then he found out about S-Sirius...-"

He gasped harshly, despite himself, and he managed to collect himself. It was horrible to think what his best friend would suffer at the hands of another one. You-Know-Who himself was one of the most influential people in his life – in the lives of all the British wizards, as well as some muggles. He hated the wizard for it.

He stumbled and stuttered through the explanation of their son's third year, trying to be vague but descriptive, strangely enough. It was hard for him, this year, as it was about the apparent betrayal of Sirius. In a way, he was relieved that Peter was the betrayer, as Sirius was his best friend and brother in all but blood. Finally, he arrived to the Quidditch Cup the summer after that.

"-It was awesome, seeing that Quidditch match twenty years in the future. The worst part, though, was afterwards. Death Eaters revelling in the horror people felt while running. They levitated and tortured muggles, while everyone ran. And, when the dark mark was dispelled, they scattered, like cowardly sheep.-"He laughed cruelly at that; death eaters running from their master's sign.

"-The Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts! After so many years, they reinstated it. Except that, this time, only those of age could enter. Many were appalled, of course, and they tried all manner of ageing potions. Who'd have thought Harry Potter – fourteen years old – would be the _fourth _champion?-"

Lily tried to be interested, to believe him. But she couldn't – how could she. This was all insanity, yet she couldn't burst his bubble right now. If it was true, if it had any possibility of being it, she'd be asking questions he couldn't answer. But, really, her mind was blank as she stared into the fire.

"-He won, Merlin, he did. His recklessness and his bravery and his lack of self-preservation all helped. Yet, in the end, his justice claimed a life. It wasn't his fault – it was Wormtail and You-Know-Who's fault. He portkeyed back to the Quidditch pitch with Cedric's body, sobbing so badly on it; he blamed no one but himself, and the two other ones I said, of course.-"

"-The Ministry worked hard to slander his name through summer, and they succeeded. After all, everyone reads the Prophet. Then, it went from bad, to worse, as Dolores Umbridge was appointed DADA professor for their fifth year. Godric, her punishments were barbaric. The Slytherins sucked up to her, obviously, while everyone else formed the DA in secret, to learn proper defense.-"

On and on and on and on, he rambled excitedly, his grin fading when he reached the end of _another _make believe year. Lily was so close to just banging her head with a book, but restrained herself; this was utter madness. "-And he was jeering at Bellatrix, until she hit him, and he fell, backwards, into the Veil. Sirius Black was the second Marauder to die..." He trailed off, his eyes brimming with tears as he tried to silence his sobs. "He was barely thirty five years old, and he was gone."

At that, Lily did tear up a bit; the boy was arrogant and irritating, but he was, at heart, good, unlike his family. Quickly, she convinced herself it wasn't true – after all, it wasn't – and she waited for her boyfriend to calm his hysterical crying.

_Her son's _supposed sixth year wasn't very interesting, as he'd spent it obsessing over Draco Malfoy and confused over Ginny. Personally, Lily thought his obsession with the Malfoy was more than wanting to find out if he was truly a _Death Eater_, and that the Ginny situation was just a weak love potion or denial. The only thing that really interested her was the potions book – which she knew was Severus'.

She missed him so badly, it had been many, many months since they'd spoken civilly, and, even if she was hurt by his degrading comment, she was willing to forgive and forget if he would just come to her, instead of staying with his _friends_. But, as of yet, the only words they'd spoken, in a cold manner, were the odd instructions in potions class.

Her eyes started leaking salty tears, of which James confused for overwhelming sadness over _their son's _tragic life. He consoled her, hugging her to him and ceasing his storytelling to placate her and to calm her. She promptly did, and, without even a hesitation, he jumped back into the story.

"-_Snivellus _killed Dumbledore, the slimy old git. He stepped in when Malfoy couldn't. Bloody murderer, no wonder Harry hated him. He's a Death Eater through and through – I have no doubts-" He wasn't a Death Eater, he couldn't be. Impossible. But he was, and Lily feared for his future. James, however, rejoiced at the fact of a troublesome future for the wizard.

"-They went on a Horcrux hunt! For months they camped and aimlessly wandered, searching for a hint of a Horcrux! They were malnourished and alone as muggle borns were taken in for questioning and blood traitors were shunned. The losing side was on the run and-"

"-Bellatrix took Hermione and tortured her, badly. The Cruciatus was inflicted on her for countless hours, yet she didn't give up on her sanity, nor did she give up their quest. With a magical knife, she carved the word '_mudblood_' onto her forearm as a reminder of her 'dirty blood status'.-"

At that, Lily did feel some compassion; she too was muggle born and bright, probably not as much as Hermione, but very close. Even if she wasn't tortured like that – _thank Merlin!_ – she could sympathise with the fictitious witch.

"-And we won! Neville destroyed Nagini, and Harry gave himself up for the Light. He met Dumbledore, who explained everything, and then returned back to life – he survived the _Avada Kedavra _twice! It was incredible! But, as a downer, Remus died. So did Tonks and many others. The last Marauder, resting in piece..." He trailed off before ending the long drawn out biography and then waited expectantly for his girlfriend's reaction.

"James," she hesitated; obsessive or not, she loved him and cared for him very much. She couldn't be harsh in her outright denial of his tale, it wouldn't do. "I love you, and I trust you; but are you sure it's not just what it was – a dream? I mean, look at it this way, you suddenly begin dreaming of a future son of ours, who has the most outrageous and dangerous adventures. What am I meant to think? – it's entirely surreal, even by wizarding standards."

James looked completely crestfallen, so Lily hastened to attempt to make the blow softer. "I mean, I love how you dream of us having a child, but don't you think it's too much to imagine such a dark and terrible future for him?" She was terrified at that prospect, even at the thought. "I didn't imagine or dream it – I envisioned it. It will happen, and it is real. I know it, trust me. I've got a feeling about it. Just, please, side with me on this one."

Lily was conflicted; she wanted so badly to side with him, but he was obsessing over it, and she knew, soon enough, she'd tire of it badly. And the outcome would be horribly chaotic and hurtful. She had only one option, yet it was a last resort. She had to try and make him see sense.

"Are you sure? This could – would – all end badly, we could be guided by our belief of what we think will happen, meaning we will somehow act so that it happens; we'd appoint Pettigrew as Secret Keeper so he betrays us, instead of appointing Sirius. We'd die, when, without the knowledge of future events, we may've survived, as we will not do the wrong choices in our endeavours to stay true to our timelines. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Lily, I do. But don't you see, we have a chance to make the most of our life – while we can't change the future, we can make the most of the present. In the end, as you said, we will have to make that choice. I'm sorry."

Seeing as he wasn't going to back down on his belief, she pulled out her wand as pointed it to him, mustering up the courage to mutter the spell. "Lily, hey, what are you doing?" James gasped quickly as he saw the tip of her hand aimed at his face.

"James, I'm so sorry. But I can't live with you if you obsess over the future like this." She shut her eyes and spit out the incantation, her heart breaking slightly at erasing her beloved's memories so easily. "_Obliviate_."

**This is my one-shot for fun I've been writing. I'm thinking it's okay, but not spectacular. Either way, I hope you enjoyed it somewhat, as it was successful in quenching my boredom while I attempted to go to sleep. ** _**Words: 2827**_


End file.
